The Hand of God
by Ben Roshi
Summary: After the story of His Dark Materials ended, this story brings back familiar characters, and introduces new ones. This is a story told from different points of view, as it explains will's search for the hand of god. What that is, read to find out!
1. Upstairs on the Board

As I rushed up the bumpy, creaking, cool stair of the aging building that was my school, I tried to recall, why was I doing this? Wouldn't I be better off at home right now? I could be studying or something, or reading a book, but no here I am. 'Well I did tell marry though,' I thought as I stepped up another endless staircase. I couldn't go home now, she wasn't there, and would probably get angry if she needed to find me and well, I wasn't here.   
  
"Why are we doing this Kirjava?" I asked.  
  
"You already forgot?" responded the sly Kirjava. HIm and I were unusually close now and days. Maybe it was because I was still to weak to manage myself, or maybe that is just what Daemons are for. Of course he was no better off then I was, but I suppose if two depressed idiots get together, maybe a more sensible person will emerge.   
  
"Spit it out already," I said to Kirjava, as I stood at the closed door that separated me from my destination. But as he responded, he was cut off by the door being flung open, as my friend John stood there to greet me.   
  
"Good you made it," he said as he beckoned me in. I walked through the door, knowing I couldn't leave now. John was the type of guy who would of forgiven me for not going, but leaving as something I just couldn't do.  
  
I looked around at the room that was only lit by a slightly ajar window in the corner. But it was good lighting, as the sun was pointing right through it. But I imagined in the morning its very dark. And there in the middle lay a strange board with 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines crossing over each other. On it lay black and white stones in places that I couldn't make any sense of.   
  
"You said you were into mystical stuff right?" asked my friend.  
  
"Yeah but," I replied. "This is just a board game!"  
  
"I assume you were expecting different," replied John in a casual sly way. We stood looking around as I began to feel uncomfortable in the stuffy room. My eyes wandered in a short period of time, and quickly settled on a strange girl who was in the room as well, sitting on one side of the board, starring at it with extreme concentration.   
  
"Who is that anyways?" I asked, pointing in the direction of the Girl. I felt kind of off when I said it, as if I was embarrassing myself. Like if you entered a spelling bee, and had no clue how to do one, and as you stood on stage you asked the judges kindly to explain it. And of course all that time the audience starred in disbelief at you as you said these words. That was how I felt now, except nobody was starring at me, so I guess it was all in my head.  
  
"This is Notsurira," he replied. "She moved here a few months back from America. She's in my math class." I looked over at Notsurira and noticed that she was about my age, and had dark black hair. Her black thick eyes were hard to catch as they starred with passion at the wooden board. She was thin and about medium height, and seemed like a nice person at glance at least. But you can't ever be sure as the Asian girl hadn't said a word yet.  
  
"Ah there it is," said Notsurira as she grabbed a black stone and flipped it gracefully into the spot above her index finger and below her middle one. Lifting her hand as high as her head, she snapped it down like an eagle. After some sort of transition, in the end her index finger had separated from the stone, and as her lone middle finger through the stone down, a satisfying snap filled the room.  
  
"Oh you finally got it, let me check," responded John. He walked over casually to the board to inspect it. "Sure did take you a while though."  
  
With a pretend fury in her face, Notsurira replied, "Its a hard problem! Besides you are four levels above me, it shouldn't be hard for you." They both looked at each other angrily, and I began to feel worse about my situation. Then a smile broke out of both their faces, and they both started laughing. Then they got up, and approached me still smiling.  
"So..." I started. "What was this game called again? And why are you showing it to me."  
  
"The game is GO Will," replied John. "And when you mentioned mystical I remembered something a pro from Korea once told me. I thought it might interest you, cause there is nothing more mystical, then that legend of this game." 


	2. Exp One!

Good day to you, readers, people looking to flame someone, whatever. This is an explanation of the kind of formate this story will go in. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, but those who found it lacking, don't worry, this gets far more interesting. But I'd like to clear up a few things before we progress into the story.  
First off, go is indeed a real game. However, while this story will introduce you to the world of go, there are many fictional things I'm going to add in. That is why, every other chapter will retain some sort of explanation as to what is fiction, and what is not.  
Now you might think to yourself, what kind of game is called Go? Well lets get you some info on the name I suppose. I believe it is called Wei chi in China, but if I'm wrong, tell me!!! Also, it's called I-Go(pronounced ego i think) in Japan. But in europe and America, its just called go. Now Go is a very old game, with lots of legends around it. Its origins itself are surrounded with legends and for more info on this, you should check out and look under their articles section. Also, senseis.xmp.net has an extensive volume of go information.  
To learn how to play go, please check and click on the English link on the top right. Or check out for another great tutorial. But we'll talk more about go later ok? I got way more chapters to fill :D.   
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Now anyways, here are some explanations about what happened in this chapter as far as GO is concerned. This way, you can tell fact from my fiction. First off, you do grip a go stone, one person is black, and one is white, between the fingers I specified. And you play it on a wood board, so that snapping sound I described is pretty much fact. Also, the "problem" I referred to, is what people call Tsumego or Go Problems. You can find those at www.goproblems.com . I think the rest makes pretty good sense. If you have questions, review the story!!! That way I can answer them in the next explanation chapter. Thanks for your time, I hope you enjoyed the story so far, though there isn't much in it. 


	3. Herr Maxemillian

Hm... how many years has it been since I first set out on this quest? As I walked down the lonely hallway, I realized that I was better finally. John had complimented my game against him yesterday, and today we're going to go solve some problems. So how far away am I from you dear John.   
Who am I? well my name is Notsurira. Though I'm from America, my heritages lays in asia, I'm sure of it! Though I don't have anyone to ask, my parents disappeared right after I was born, and I had no relatives. So all I have to go bye, is well my looks. I have dark skin, small eyes, and short black hair. It seems impossible I could be from anywhere else!  
Now as I was walking down the hall, well I was thinking about that, but just a little. Just because I had overheard a girl in my history class talk about her relatives in Iceland. Was I jealous? no not really, well maybe just a bit.   
'Come on Notsurira, stop thinking about that!' I shouted to myself. School was out at least, and Go Club was after school. Though it was just me and John, it was still a lot of fun. But I felt like there was just something different about this time as I walked up the winding stairs. But as I stepped into the bright sunlit room, I felt a wind of relief shatter those strange feelings. But they weren't gone for good.  
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"What is Go?" Will had just asked me. "Stop playing games with me John." I starred at him for a second, and while part of me got a little angry, I knew I could help Will out.  
"It must of been a few years back when my teacher told me this," I started.   
"Told you what?" Will forced at me. He was annoyed for some reason. I guess he was just this kind of person.  
"About the Hand of God."  
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Hand of God..." John had just finished as I felt a quiver in my heart. I wonder how this kid, what did he say his name is, oh bother whatever, this "kid" felt when he heard this strange sentence.  
I had heard of the Hand of God, it was something like the perfect ability in Go. The way I had been taught it, it was that if you were playing against God himself, you would tie with him. And I suppose it would go .5 point either way because of the "komi." But what was so mystical about this? It was just a dream after all, to be the greatest Go player there could be. Its not like this kid would care, he doesn't even know what the game is. Ah what's going on.  
"Spit it out already John, what the heck is going on?" I shouted at him. John didn't flinch though, and looked lost in thought. And then his story began.  
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"Master, what do you think of the hand of God?" I asked the stern German Go player, that I had been a disciple of for a few years.   
"The Hand of God," responded my Master with a peculiar look on his face.  
"Yes, Unkunobunu Sensei (Sensei is Japanese for Teacher, and carries over when your talking about a Pro Go player I think, just think about it as sir or something), says you have a unique and well thought out theory on it," I responded to my confused master. I had had the honor of studying under the great Herr Maxemillian, the Great German Go player. Though I'm sure now that I didn't have the skill, he accepted me for some reason. We had even become somewhat friends.   
"My theory is much different from others John," replied Herr Maxemillian. "You see, unlike most peoples belief that it is only the skills that you obtain by gaining the Hand of God, I believe there is a much more philosophical meaning behind this achievement. And that, is Power. Not just any power, but power of an insane amount." Herr Maxemillian began to get really rallied up in both anger and excitement. His fists moved through the air creating signs that pushed his speech into an overwhelming form, and his echoing voice drilled into my mind, and caused me to fear him. "Don't you understand John, this is powers we have never imagined, the power to change the way the world is, to destroy the tiniest of things, to cut the bounding of our earth. After all my study this is what I've found. The legends, all have pointed me into this direction. As the ancient scrolls proclaim that describe this amazing game "You who are far away, and I have never met, and that I never can, when I achieve this hand, we will be together in one eden! We can not reach out to you now, there is a wall to high to climb, but may I set us free!"  
"But what does that all mean Herr Maxemillian?" I shouted at him as my emotions where at his extreme level.  
"You still don't get it John, we can..."  
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I hope I can get the next chapter up soon, and I hope the story is improving and going in a good direction. Oh yeah, and can you guess what that bugger of a cliff hanger is proclaiming heh :P. 


	4. Exp Two!

now I hope I don't here any complaints about my story not "perfectly" conveying Lyra and Will's Sadness or anything, 'cause for crying out loud, everybody else does that! And frankly it just bugs me. Enough of the sadness, these aren't frail weak characters! And while this story will convey emotions that they feel towards each other, I'm not going to start with that stupid mushy chapter when I can get into a unique story. Because the best fan ficts I've read here, have a great mid-story and ending, my goal is to convey that kind of story throughout the story.  
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Lets get some things straight as we do ever other chapter ok? First off, the characters here I have mentioned so far, are all fake. None of them exist. THey aren't real pros, just thought I would clear that up.  
Alright now what's next... yeah Komi. Now Go is one of the few games that actually gives white some sort of make up points for going second. This is in the form of komi which is worth 6.5 points now. Though some people still use the 5.5 point way. I'm sure if you play the game for a while, you will start to notice why, but I'm going to have to tell you this, that takes a long time.  
Now on to that theory that I'm sure is itching in your mind. Just so you know, never heard of it before. Yep I made it up. No not the Hand of God, but this whole awesome power thing that Herr Maxemillian has been blabbing about lately.   
And that quote? You guessed it, I made it up. Just thought i'd clear that up. If there are any questions, please include them in your reviews. 


	5. What Kind of Hope?

As I got home that day, I felt a strange sensation fulfill me. As if, what John had told me had saved my life. But I also felt like I was slipping away. Ever since I had parted with her, well, I felt like I was suffocating. But time was beginning to heal my wounds. And while John had given me a indescribable hope, I felt that they had been torn open again. I staggered home that day, floating the whole time. I didn't think about what I had heard, or about anything. And as I sat on my peaceful couch inside Dr. Malone's small, but comfortable flat, I started to begin to absorb the shock.  
  
Could it be done? How hard was this goal? This Hand of God. Was it just an impossible dream for me to reconcile with? How come fate is so cruel! To go on an endless quest, just to obtain what I had lost so painfully those years ago. I wanted it, but I didn't want to want it in vain. This would be a life long quest! And if I failed, then I will have wasted my life.  
  
Dust. My life, it was all about making dust. That's how the angels saw it, and that is how I wanted to see it, how that side of me wanting to do the right thing felt at least. So if this is my path, will I be creating dust? Maybe that should be how I judge this situation. I suppose its better then wandering around without any direction. So then I got up. Took out my homework, and began working on it. "I'll just play in the club, at least John will be happy," I said out loud to myself.  
"Will, I think you made the right choice," replied Kirjava. "I'm not sure what to do either, you trail of thought was beyond my help."  
"Well maybe that is why we have our own mind's," I replied to Kirjava. "After all, you can't be in charge of everything I do." We both smiled at each other, yes a smile, maybe my first one in such a long time.  
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"That kid sure did seem shocked," said Notsurira. "By the way, what was his name again?"  
I answered her with simple answer without thinking, "That was Will Parry. He is in my Science class. I guess we're sort of friends, but I've only known him for a little bit."  
"Well I guess that whole hand of God certainly got him interested," replied Notsurira. "Do you think he'll follow Go?"  
"I hope so," I replied. "He seems good at thinking things out, and perspective, so maybe he has some natural talent."  
"He seems so depressed though," Notsurira replied. "Is he knew to the school John?"  
"Yeah he just moved here," I answered. "I am not sure much about him, but I one day invited him to sit at my table for lunch, and well, I guess that means we're sort of friends since he shows up everyday."  
"That was quite a story though," replied Notsurira after a short while of thought. "You should be a writer."  
Taken aback by her statement, and not feeling very together at the time I replied in a somewhat depressed tone, "yeah story."  
After that I faded into thought and memories. We were on the bus ride home, and it had been a whole day since I had talked to Will. I just couldn't confront him today, after what happened yesterday and all. 'Well, we do have go club tomorrow,' I thought. Maybe then things will become clearer.  
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I walked up the long stairways once again. I sort of felt like turning back, I was still unsure about this whole thing. Sometimes, I just wanted to lay back and do nothing. I slowly thought about heading home as I approached the small grey door.  
"Remember Will," started Kirjava as I nervously considered the cold door knob. "You said you'd go, you should go. You might make some friends here after all."  
"But Kir," I cried out softly. "How can I play a game when all I think about is..."  
But then Kirjava interrupted, "You remember how it was when you first got back home? You never stopped thinking about them, neither did I. But you know what? We kept going, we kept living. I know how hard it was, I don't want that to happen again. But we can't put these kind of restrictions on ourselves. Because if we do, we will still think about them. We'll more importantly wreck our lives!"  
"Your right," I replied. A small tear dripped from my face to the ground. I sat on the long dark stairs and looked at Kirjava in a sorrowful mood.  
"I, I.." started Kirjava. "I'm sorry Will. I'm just trying to do what's best. I feel the same way though. I'm, I'm nothing but a Hypocrite."  
"No Kirjava," I replied sharply. "You are right, I know you are! We need to reassure both of us, 'cause we are one. We both feel the same kind of pain. So lets just move on. Thank you." Kirjava only starred at me with her pale green eyes, that looked like they had aged a thousand years. I scooped her off the ground and hugged Kirjava for a little bit, her soft fur bathing against me. Then I put her down and said, "let's go."  
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 


	6. Exp Three!

Not much happened, eh or anything about go during the last chapter. But I got to do something during this chapter now don't I?  
Um ok so here I go!  
The game of go can be played on three different size boards. Either 9x9, 13x13, or 19x19. The number refers to how many lines going in each direction there are. The first two are usually for beginners to practice on and master the basics on, but everyone can have a good time on them. Go is a two player game, with one person being white, and the other black. Black always, always, always, always, goes first. But I'm sure that if you play for a while, you might notice that that isn't always fair. So the idea of Komi came along, which was discussed a little bit back. But I'll go over it again, its just 6.5 extra points to be added on to white's score at the end of the game. Also, because there is that extra .5 point in there, there can never be a tie in an even game. But, there can be ties in "handicapped" games. Because in those matches, there is not Komi usually. But we'll talk about handicaps later.   
:  
Now anyways, the game progresses by each player alternating turns putting down ONE stone at a time. The object of the game is to surround the most area on the board. Now this is probably pretty hard to get working out right, because couldn't your opponent just fill up what you surrounded? That's right, they could. That is why you can capture stones. "How?" you're probably thinking. We'll don't worry its not hard. You just surround there stones. Since you place stones on the places where the lines intersect, its not that hard to do. Lets say a scenario: white puts down a stone somewhere. If black wants to capture it, he has to put a stone above, below, to the left, and to the right of the stone. Diagonal doesn't work. And then poof, the stone is gone. And when you capture a stone, then you get to put it in your "capture jar." At the end of the game, under most rules sets at least, you add the total number of captures to your total amount of area surrounded.  
  
Now since I wrote that all, that probably doesn't make any sense does it. But don't worry, I have visuals! Thats right, I know of two amazing interactive tutorials so you can learn the game of go! www.playgo.to has one. And kgs.kiseido.com has one also! They are interactive and everything! I just suggest learning the basics of Go while reading this, it makes it a bit easier to follow the story.   
  
I'll try and put in some more go explanations on these even chapters. It will help you out when reading the story, because I'm sure most of you have no clue how to play, not that thats weird or anything :D. 


	7. Is It Rain, Or Is It Sorrow

"Where have you been going with your friend lately Will?" I asked him as we both sat on the couch, him doing his homework, and I drinking some coffee. "I'm just kind of curious since you been staying after school to be with them lately."  
"I'm in a club Mary," Will replied. He didn't seem to want to talk, he never did. But he was a respectful person, so his tone wasn't harsh or angry. It was just his reply. If he really wanted to talk, I knew that he would have said more. But he never did.   
While I didn't mean to pry, but I couldn't contain my curiosity. "What kind of club will?" It wasn't that I thought he could be doing something wrong, or that I needed to worry about him. Maybe it was just my nature. But then again, here was Will, the kid who's mom was locked away, who had left his only love behind, who had never brought a friend home or anything. And, well almost never smiled.  
"It's a Go club," Will replied. "Why? do you know something about it."  
"Well," I replied, hoping to keep this conversation as friendly as I could. "I did have a professor who played Go. It was professor List, remember? He was the one who helped me not go to jail for what I did." Yes, I had a lot to thank him for. When we had returned, I was immediately arrested. Who wouldn't get arrested for what I did? I had destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars of machinery, and years of work. Faked my identity and even stole stuff. It seems that neither Will or I had much to return to. Anyways, at my trial, Professor List appealed to the courts punishment of 15 years in jail, and requested that since I was a good worker, with a good deal of knowledge, that I come work for the state under extreme conditions. And that is how I avoided imprisonment. Sure life was harder now, my income was low, I'm always under watch, but its better then jail I guess.  
"Yes I remember him," Will replied. I guess there wasn't much I could do after that. His response, no his decision, was solid and firm. He didn't ever want to budge, he was just to independent. And I wasn't his mother, and if I tried to hard to be his mother, then all that would do would hurt him. So I got up, finished the last drops of my coffee, grabbed a book from the shelf, and began to read.  
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The trees had become adapted to the fall around now. There leaves had changed colors, and for some reason, they seemed mightier then before. Were there colors more vivid or something? Ah I don't really know. I guess thats how fall is. But even though those leafs are dying, maybe there is something symbolic about it. Fall is a peaceful time. Was death peaceful, is that what it is saying? But, I still don't want to go. I can't leave yet! Here I am leaning against a tree in the middle of the park, nobody is around, I got yelled at a lot today, maybe some kids would think of ending it. I did get driven out of my house after all. Well if you call that a house, its just a dirty orphanage. Better then nothing yes, but still, it wasn't home. So where is my home? But then again, its no good to worry about these kind of things.   
I wiped a tear dropping down from my eyes. I was embarrassed it was there, and quickly covered it up. But there was no one to look, so I don't know why I was ashamed. Then memories started flooding through my head. How I got here, what had happened before that. And, I found myself fading away.  
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"I'm glad you came again Will," I said to Will as he walked through the door into the Go club. "Its good to have more members."  
"Well, at least I know how to play now," he replied. "So John, where is Notsurira?"  
"I don't know," replied John. "She said she had to go home for a little, but she would be back for the club, but its already been a long time."  
"Do you think she's ok?" Will asked. I was taken aback by this statement. I wondered why he seemed so concerned, he hardly knew the girl, but then as I thought about it more, he was just being polite I guess.  
"I think she's probably ok," I replied uncertainly. "What could happen?"  
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It was raining hard outside today. As I walked to school, drenched without an umbrella or really anything to protect me, I started to think again. About what was my purpose here. And why I needed to fulfill such a hard life? Couldn't I just be a normal kid, with a mom and a dad who both cared for me. But I guess I was stuck with what I got. Being yelled at at school and after it. Having only a few different outfits to wear, all second rate and second hand. But most of all, people seemed almost, afraid of me. I wonder why they would be? Sure I'm not a perfect person, what everyone would cling to right away, and fight over to be friends with, but couldn't I just have a few friends. Is that so much to ask? I guess there was John and Will, but it wasn't the same with them. I hardly knew Will, and the guy just seemed so closed up and almost stone hearted. Like he didn't care about anybody anymore. And John, well all he seems to care about is Go. I mean I love it too. I can get away from the world through the board. It helps me forget these worries. But when we're not at the Go club, we're never together. Never as friends, just people who play in the same club.  
I was already drenched in the first minutes going outside. But the long walk to school, somehow had its way to make me feel as if I was getting worse. So I walked on miserably through the rain. Why just yesterday I had admired the weather, but I guess this is how fall is. Winter is worse, and chills ran up my spine just thinking about it. I then stopped in the middle of the road, because I almost tripped on a chunk of wood that lay discarded on the ground. I had no clue why it was here, it just seemed like it just wanted to hurt me. Oh I think to much, "I can't be so depressed!" I shouted inside my head.  
"Do you want to share my umbrella," a kind voice reached out to me. I quickly scrambled up, only to see the solemn faced Will staring at me inside the drenching rain. "You really should have one you know, here you can share mine."  
"Thanks a bunch," I replied. I got up and walked beside him so I could finally dry. And so both of us walked to school that day under that big black umbrella, neither side saying a word, neither side thinking about what was happening, just floating, because the misery we had been feeling before, had been lifted for a little, because that is what happens when you're with friends. 


	8. Exp Four!

Wow guess what, that was another chapter with no reference to Go Lingo at all! Good for you I guess, hehe or I don't know. I can't go into detail about Go every chapter now can I? This story is more about the characters, and while its been a bunch about Will and his new friends so far, don't worry, this story will tie in stronger to His Dark Materials. Hm.... you know actually right now, with a few minor changes, this could become an original fiction if I wanted it. But I wouldn't do that, because that will throw off my plans for the later chapters! Ok anyways, I guess I'll do some more explanation about Go in this chapter! Today we'll talk about RATINGS!  
  
Ok so here is a brief summary on ratings in Go. These things will be tied into the story, VERY SOON, so I guess if I explain before hand, everything is so much better! Here is a:  
Why Rank?  
Well we rank for many reasons. First, so you can brag about it. Second, so you can play with total strangers and play the ones your lvl. And third, so you can have a good handicap set up during the match.  
Handicap?...  
A handi cap is when a player puts down stones in the beginning of the game. They are played on the star points. You put down in theory, 1 stone per level of difference. So a 2d vs a 1d would have a one stone handi cap in the game. In the same sense, a 4d and a 1d would havea 3 stone handicap in the game.  
Hey I've never seen one stone!  
Thats right, we do never put down one stone. Because it wouldn't help! After all, lets say you put it on the top right star point, then guess what its white turn. And you have only one stone on the field! So it won't work out because it would be the same as if you just had played it there. So instead of putting a stone down if your 1 ranking apart, we just get rid of the komi.  
Dan?...  
This is where ranking comes in. In japan the ranking is like this, 30k1k9d(k=kyu d=dan). A 7d would be a great amature player. A 9d would be a pro. The korean ranking is easier with 1gup 30gup. But different rating systems will compare you differently. Basically, in japana 1d is different then an american 1d. I'll try and make a chart later.  
I thought dans were pros?  
ah sharp eye. Between us amateur players, aka non pros, a 9d is the only person that could compare to a pro. But the pros in japan use the 1d 9d thingy also. Most people use p to symbolize pro.  
if i am a 20 kyu and am playing a nine dan, 29 stones!  
This is very important. Most games handicaps don't go past 9. That would be crazy and not help as much. So if you are that far away in skill, a good player will play shidougo or shido-go in english. That is a teaching game. They will play easy on you basically and test you. Its great for going over in the end.   
What about the different rating systems comparison...  
I was getting to that. First, you should know that, aga 7d = china 4-5 dan = europe 5-6 dan = igs 5d = Japan 6-7dan = korea 1 gup = nngs 5-6 dan. I will have a more detailed chart later.  
vs a computer  
First off, go problems that determin ranking and go computer programs aren't the bestway to determin your level. First off, a computer program would judge your ranking against it and its style. This could be a pro or con to you. But a computer plays differentthen a human so you should always play humans more. Second, go problems are a good way, but if you see the same one enough for you to have memory of the sequence, it will wreck your creativity and not be acurate. The best way to determin your level is to play games with people, and by how much you lost or won, figure it out.   
Lower levles aren't accurate   
one thing you should know is that if you are a lower lvl player, around 17kyu and up, then your ranking won't be as acurate as if you were a higher player. That is because you are still a developing player and you will see people of a higher rank losing to lower ranks. Hey it happens just because of what stage of learning the game you are. However, you can trust them for the most part.   
Oh yeah and if any thing about that is wrong at all, TELL ME!  
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hope that made some sense, this info will help you out in the next chapters. 


	9. What The Knife Had Left

I played my first few hands sort of quickly. That usually happens to me when I know my opponent. Maybe its just the way I am personally, but I'm sure others are like that also. And this was just a game of shidougo between Notsurira and I. I hope one day she gets as good as me, it will be more fun that way. Hm... maybe Will will get good also, but he doesn't seem to into it.  
"Hm... where is Will?" Notsurira asked. She then carefully moved into the next hand.  
"I don't know, maybe I should go look for him?" I asked. "He said he had to make up a test today or something. But he also said he would show up later."  
"I'll come too," replied Notsurira. So we got up and left the game. Stones still aligned and ready to do battle, and the harmony of the wood and the stone peacefully setting a scenic mood for our club. Our club room was shabby and a bit broken up. It had originally been a storage closet, but nobody uses it any more. So my math teacher said I could use it for whatever. There were still shelves in here, and broken desks even. But all we cared about was that it was for our club. I brought a Goban from home, and it was good for playing on, while cheap at the same time. I had made it myself in a workshop class. And while I didn't get a good grade on it, "to simple, even an idiot could do this," was what my workshop teacher said, I appreciated it, and it was very useful when making the club. I could even leave it here, instead of having to take it home every day like I might of had to. And that was our club, our room, our place, that we were leaving right now, never thinking we might one day not come back. Peace.  
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"Get out of my way freak," shouted out a big senior named Bururi. "I don't want your stupid face anywhere near me get it?" A crowd had started to form as me and John started going down there stairs in search of Will. It was so big, that we couldn't see who Bururi was bullying this time. Also, we couldn't tell by the voice of the victim, because he, or she, refused to speak. "Oh I see, you can't speak can you? Don't you know when you bump into somebody, your supposed to say sorry?"  
"Sorry...," the unknown kid murmured softly. I could make out that it was a he, but I still couldn't tell who it was. So I pushed my way through the crowd, hoping for a glimpse, but to no avail.  
"Speak up moron," shouted out Bururi. "Maybe you need some more persuasion. Get down on the ground!!! Or else I'll smash you down there for you." I kept trying to push through the huge crowd, and finally I got a glimpse! And while I couldn't make out the kids face, I did see his legs, and saw he stood his ground. "I'm not kidding punk, get down now, or else your dead!!!" Bururi continued to torment him as best as he could. But yet, the kid still stood still.  
"What is that idiot doing Notsurira?" asked John, as he pushed his way beside me. "Doesn't he realize what he is dealing with?" I wanted to reply to John, but I couldn't I had no clue what to say, and no advice as to what we should do. So I just nodded and turned back towards the mob.  
Like a bullet at a fly, the impact was unbearable. Like when someone kills your own mom or dad, you just can't watch these kind of things. I ducked away as a huge fist landed sharply and painfully on the poor kids face. A bit of blood fell towards the ground with him, and everyone knew to back away. And even the people who knew Bururi best, knew what a cruel kid he was, still were surprised when he laughed.  
"So is that all you got tough guy?" shouted Bururi. Though he might of sounded it, he wasn't at all disappointed by the situation. He just laughed again at this perfect chance to show how tough he was. He kicked his fallen foe across the floor with one mighty sweep. I lost sight of him once again. Then, miraculously, he stood up again. And from the fallen boy, who now stood up tall and soaked in his own blood, I felt a strange aura of both anger and power. Blood started to fall from his face like rain. His own anger was increasing his wounds, making his pain feel unbearable to just us spectators. The the whole word started to change. I felt as if the whole world began to feel paler, and emptier then it had before. And all around us, faint shadows began to float, people that we had never seemed before, were walking beside us like nothing was going on at all. No! They were walking through us! And then, from that pale darken world we were all suffering through, that humid painful land we lived in, as if we were in the presence of death it self, shot out a flaming blue light. It seemed to warp the fabrics of time itself as its eery presence moved throughout the room. And then, my mind was warped out, distorted like time itself was that day. And i felt my vision moving like a camera would. The edges of my eyes were blurred and smeared towards the center vocal point. That vocal point that moved throughout the people in the room, over, above, around, everywhere, until finally it found its target. The source of the blue light, a kid with the aura rising from out of him. That kid with blood dropping to the ground like rain. The same one who had been punched out, like he was a doll, now was shifting time itself. As time began to slow down, he dashed forward, and jawed the bully. He fell to the ground, and then the world began to return to normal. But not before I got a glimpse of his face.  
When everything seemed to return, doing so as quickly as it changed, I found myself in front of all the other people. Then, I starred in disbelief at the solemn figure who's aura had shifted time itself. I starred at him, and he starred back at me. Both of us in shock, because we knew it was the other one. Both of us wanted to say, "no thats not the other," or something, because we didn't want it to be that other person, it could of been anyone else, but not them.  
"Wi...Wi...Wi...Will!" I shouted out as my eyes started to flood. My disbelief began to consume me, and he turned his tear filled head towards me. His bloody wounds erupted like volcanoes, and he fell on one knee. But then, he looked up, his eyes meeting mine, and shook his head. Shaking it sorrowfully, like a soldier who had to tell his best friends wife, that her husband was dead. And he got back up again, tears still stained with his blood, and ran.  
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hope you liked the chapter. 


	10. Exp Five!

Well right now I'm wondering what you thought about the last chapter? After all, it was, how do you say, a bit different then the others. Its just one of those major event chapters I like to put in.  
Now its occurred to me that I am supposed to put some sort of legal disclaimer saying: "i don't own his dark materials," or something like that. While I don't think I should really need to put that, after all I am putting no claim to it ever, I don't want to get yelled at or anything so:  
I don't own His Dark Materials. It is owned by someone else, and I stake no claim towards His Dark Materials. For questions about to be answered, please contact me at benroshi@trigun.com and I will fulfill your request to make this humble fan fiction a more legal story, so that it may benefit us all.  
Now that that is done, on with the explanations!  
First word you might of been thrown off by, that I really need to clear up, is GOBAN. What is a goban, well that is a simple answer. That is the board you play go on. For some pictures of gobans, as well as purchasing info so you can have your own, you should look at www.samarkand.net . For more info on gobans, I suggest looking at this site: , or www.gobase.org . But to keep it simple, that is just the board that you play on.  
Second thing to clear up, shidougo. What is that? Its really simple, don't worry. That is just teaching go basically. You usually play this kind of go, against a weaker player then yourself. The object is not to win, but to show them the proper moves they should do. You test them, and purposely set up situations that you can review with them after the game. There is also usually a handicap.   
After the game????  
yeah I'm sure this is becoming an interesting thought in your head. After all, you can place your stone on one of 361 different spaces on the first turn, then 360, 359, etc. Plus, each go game is usually hundreds of moves. So you might wonder, how can I replay a game, that would take a mad amount of memory skill. Here is the answer in two parts:  
1. I can't. But I'm not very good at go... The more you play though, the better understanding you will have for the board, and you'll be able to do it eventually.  
2. Its a skill that comes over time, but you can practice it. While it would be hard to practice this skill, it can be done. But I suggest you just focus more on playing the game actually because it will come naturally. Like I always say, "spend time improving your faults, because your strengths will come naturally."  
Well I think that about covers it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. And remember, if you have any questions, I'll answer them! Just email them to me at benroshi@trigun.com or post it in your review! 


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